Sektionen

11

Dalit folk singer and activist S Sivadas, popularly known by his stage name Kovan, was arrested on 30 October over two satirical songs which criticize the Tamil Nadu state government and chief minister. Kovan faces charges including sedition, provocation with intent to cause a riot and public mischief. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Israeli military have imposed administrative detention orders on three Palestinian 17-year-olds from East Jerusalem, allowing indefinite detention without charge. Since their arrests between 17 and 19 October, two of them have not been allowed family visits.

Blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy have been held without trial in Viet Nam since May 2014, in excess of the time allowed under national law. Following a visit in late October by his family and lawyer, there are increasing concerns for Nguyen Huu Vinh’s health and conditions of detention.

After almost eight months in hiding, prominent student unionist Lin Htet Naing has been detained for his role in organizing student protests in Myanmar. Over 50 students are currently in detention for taking part in the protests. Lin Htet Naing is a prisoner of conscience who must be immediately and unconditionally released.

As weather worsens, thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers are facing inhumane conditions after arriving on the Greek Aegean islands following dangerous and life threatening journeys. They are also at risk of violence by police and members of far-right groups.

A 25-year-old Iranian man, Alireza Shahi, is at imminent risk of execution after he was convicted and sentenced to death for the charge of murder. Amnesty International has concerns about the fairness of the trial that led to Alireza Shahi’s conviction.

Two human rights defenders in South Korea are at risk of being imprisoned for their role in protests calling for justice for the victims of the Sewol ferry accident and their families. Their trial began on 14 October, with a sentence expected in December.

Five Syrian refugees, including a 16 year-old boy, have been held in incommunicado detention since being taken to the Erzurum Deportation Centre in Aşkale, eastern Turkey. They are at risk of deportation to Syria. They are among between 150 to 200 asylum-seekers and refugees believed to be held in the Erzurum Deportation Centre.

Syrian peaceful political activist Mohamed Saleh was arrested on 23 October by Syrian Air Force Intelligence. Information received suggests he could soon be subjected to an unfair trial before a military court. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Investigative journalist, Genci Angjellari, his wife and his 14-month-old daughter are at imminent risk of deportation from Norway to Albania. The family fled from Albania in 2014, after a physical attack on Genci Angjellari and receiving death threats. If returned to Albania their lives will be at risk.

Eight students from the Holy Quran University in Omdurman, Sudan were arrested by the National Intelligence Security Service (NISS) on 14 November. Their whereabouts remain unknown and they may be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Saudi Arabian activist Abdulaziz al-Sunaidi was sentenced by the counter-terrorism court on 13 October to eight years in prison followed by an eight-year travel ban for posting on Twitter. He was denied access to a lawyer throughout his detention and trial. He is a prisoner of conscience.

A discriminatory bill in Iran, that undermines women’s right to decide freely whether and when to marry, divorce and have children, and further entrenches domestic violence as a private «family matter», has moved one step closer to becoming law after its general principles were passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament on 2 November.

Natalya Sharina spent two nights in a police cell and is currently under house arrest after «extremist books» were allegedly found in the library where she works. She is a prisoner of conscience and could face up to five years in prison.

Despite serious fair trial concerns, on 18 November the highest court in Bangladesh upheld the death sentences of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. This was the last judicial remedy available to them. They are now at risk of imminent execution unless the President commutes their death sentences to terms of imprisonment.

Twenty-three members of the Lesotho army face a court martial on mutiny charges. Twenty-one have been in custody since May and in solitary confinement for over a month. There are concerns that evidence against them was obtained through torture and that they will not receive a fair trial. If found guilty, they face the death penalty.

Ashraf Fayadh, a Palestinian poet and artist, has been sentenced by a court in Saudi Arabia to death for the «crime» of apostasy. He was denied access to a lawyer throughout his detention and trial. He is a prisoner of conscience.

Ali Isa al-Tajer was arrested on 5 November in Bahrain and has had no access to his family or lawyer since. It is not known where he is held, or whether he has been charged. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

A migrants’ rights defender received a series of threatening phone calls from an individual claiming to be part of a major drug cartel who threatened him with extortion. The defender and his colleagues from a migrants shelter in Tabasco state, south east Mexico, had been recently working on a number of cases of mass kidnappings and sexual violence of migrants in the region.

Prisoner of conscience Dr Mohammed al-Roken passed out in his cell in al-Razeen Prison in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 11 November after the prison authorities deliberately broadcast very loud noise, which could amount to torture.

The police violently dispersed a peaceful protest against corruption in the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, on 24 November. Protestors are at risk of further attacks as they plan to continue demonstrating.

Shahram Ahmadi, a Sunni Muslim man from Iran’s Kurdish minority, is at imminent risk of execution. He was sentenced to death for «enmity against God» after a grossly unfair trial, and his death sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court.